Pretty Face
by xJojoIsHerex
Summary: While Tony Stark is in Afghanistan, he is caught in a sand storm and seeks refuge in a nearby tent. This tent belongs to a female soldier, Jess Marenco. Tony works his usual magic and leaves in the morning. Then Iron Man and New York happens and he doesn't see the girl again. Then one day she comes to visit him out of the blue with an interesting proposition. Read and review JAxxx
1. Sandstorms

Chapter 1

_6 years previously... _

"You ready for this Tony?" Rhodey said, clapping his friend on the back.  
"Of course I am!" Tony said, putting on his sunglasses.  
"Good luck out there." Rhodey said.  
Tony nodded and jumped out of the car. The hot November air hit him instantly after the cool air conditioned air of the jeep. Tony gave his head a little shake, smoothing his hair and walking across the sand to the lines of tanks.  
"Evening Mr Stark." The army general said.  
"Sup." Tony said grinning at him.  
As he walked out the wind started to pick up.

Tony put his hands up to cover his eyes and staggered along a line of tents. He pushed open the flap of one of them at random and looked around. There was a girl standing there, brushing her hair in a mirror. She turned around in surprise.

Tony took off his sunglasses to get a better look at her. "Hey there." He said with a smile.

Maybe it was the hot air or just sleep deprivation, Tony thought. Probably.

Jess woke up, the late morning sun pouring through the gap in the tent. She was dazed for a second then sat bolt upright. She scrambled out of the bed and pulled on her khakis and vest top. Tony was gone. The bed was cold. She ruffled her short hair and ran out of the tent. He was nowhere to be seen. She sighed and hurried to the mess hall, hoping she wasn't too late for her mission. She was. It had been given away to someone else. She cursed and stamped her foot. Damn Tony Stark! Jess vowed at that moment to get revenge on him, if it was the last thing she would do.

* * *

**Hi, so this was just a little quick idea I came up with yesterday. It's unrelated to my other Iron Man fic so don't get confused. Let me know what you think and if I should continue. PS. If I do continue I would obviously do much longer chapters. **

**JA xxx**


	2. Unexpected visit

Chapter 2 

_Present day... _

**Jess:**

I pulled up outside the house, my car stereo blasting Fall Out Boy. I checked my hair quickly before I got out of the car, putting on a extra coat of lipstick. I got out of the car and walked up the steps to the house. The door slid open after a minute and I walked in, looking around.  
"Hey there." Tony said, appearing at the top of the stairs.  
That struck a nerve. That was exactly what he'd said before. It seemed this was going to be more difficult than I thought. Come on Jessie, I thought. You can do this. I took a deep breath.  
"Hi." I said, looking up at him.  
"Want a drink?"  
"Yeah, sure."  
I didn't think he recognised me at all but he was just offering me a drink. I heard my mother's voice in my head, "Disgraceful! The military shouldn't allow that sort of thing! Stupid boy thinks he can just waltz in and out of your life whenever he pleases! You could have got any sort of disease!"  
"Mom, please don't sue him!" I heard myself beg. "Just leave it alone!"  
I gave my head a little shake and followed Tony into the next room. His house was amazing, so big and modern like something out of a magazine.  
"Any preferences?"  
"Just whatever you're having." I called, crossing my legs on the high stool.  
Tony raised an eyebrow, "Alright then."  
He poured two shots of whiskey. He gave me one and I downed it with no trouble. I didn't particularly like whiskey but I could handle it and anything even stronger if I tried. Tony looked impressed as he drank his own glass.  
"So... who are you and what do you want?" Tony said after a while.  
"I thought you'd never ask." I said, "Do you remember Afghanistan?"  
"Of course I do, what do you think I am, stupid?"  
I chose not to answer that as I didn't want to offend too much at that point.  
"Well, do you remember the night of the sandstorm where you hid in someone's tent until morning?"  
Tony thought for a minute then snapped his fingers. "Yes!" He grinned in a smug sort of way. "I remember that cheeky little brunette with the fine..."  
"Yes!" I interrupted. I leaned on the bar. "That was me."  
Tony sat in shocked silence for a minute. Then he seemed to come to life again.  
"Your hair grew." He said, struggling to think of something to see.  
"Yeah, that's sort of what it does." I said, secretly pleased that I'd reduced him to silence.  
"So what are you here to tell me? I've got a son out there?" He said.  
"Daughter, actually. She's in the car." I said, jerking my thumb over my shoulder to my car.  
Tony's eyes flashed with pure panic.  
"Joking!" I said quickly in case he had a heart attack or something.  
Tony breathed out, looking very relieved. "Oh thank god."  
"Do you remember my name?" I asked.  
Tony pulled a face. After a long pause he said, "Jenny?"  
"Close."  
"I'm not good with names." Tony said.  
"Jess."  
"That was it!" Tony looked pleased with himself for not remembering.  
I rolled my eyes.  
"So Jess, what do you want?" Tony said, leaning forwards across the bar, his expression the same undressing-you-with-my-eyes expression he'd given me six years before. I felt the same fluttering feeling in my gut.  
"You're a scientist, aren't you?" I said, leaning forwards also, leaning my chin on my hand.  
"Sort of."  
"Well scientists do experiments don't they?"  
"Yeah. And?" Tony said.  
"I would like to propose an idea for an experiment."  
"Involving?"  
"Us."  
"Oh." He said, taken aback.  
"You see, I've been single for a year now, as have you. Of course, neither of us have been lonely in any respect of the word but I think that we both need something a little more stable. The whole romantic relationship thing is too cliché for me." I explained.  
"I agree." Tony said. "I'm all for stability."  
"No emotional attachments. With benefits."  
Tony shrugged, "Ah, what the hell. The day that Tony Stark refuses 4th base is a very sad day because Tony Stark is dead!"  
I chuckled.  
He held out his hand, I took it.  
"So, we have an agreement?" I asked.  
"Yeah." He grinned. "I'd never had thought that you would come back, especially for that, I mean!"  
I raised an eyebrow. "Oh, shut up. I'm done with the whole romantic relationship thing and you don't seem to mind."  
Tony was still holding onto my hand. He pulled me closer to him sharply.  
"So shall we get started now or go somewhere else?" He said softly.  
"Woah, wait a second Stark." I let go of his hand and stepped back. I walked over to the couch and sat down. "We need to set down a few ground rules first. Or else things could get complicated."  
"Fine." Tony sat beside me.  
"Okay, first thing; if you call me baby or honey, that is romantic talk, a definite no." I said, leaning back in my seat.  
"Okay, I can live with that." Tony replies.  
"Second, I'm pretty well-known."  
"Why? You're a model or something?"  
I folded my arms. "I'm an actress."  
"Really?" Tony looked unimpressed.  
"Yes, really!" I stood up in front of this. "This sound familiar?" I put on a high-pitched breathless voice. "Oh Tony! Oh, oh!"  
Tony narrowed his eyes then stood up and moved so close that I could feel the heat from his body.  
"You ready now?" He said quietly in my ear.  
"You bet." I stepped back and lifted up the bottom of my dress. I lifted it over my head ans dropped it onto the ground. Tony's eyes widened as he looked me over.  
"Right." He ripped his shirt off.  
I lay down on the sofa and Tony lay beside me. I rolled over on top of him.  
"Okay?" He said.  
"Okay." I said and kissed him roughly.


	3. Your place

Chapter 3

We lay on the sofa.  
"Well," Tony said after a long pause. "Was that satisfactory?"  
"Yeah." I said and held up my hand. "High five?"  
Tony high-fived me and I stood up and bent down to pick up my underwear.  
"You want a beer or something?" I said. "As soon as you've finished checking out my ass, of course."  
Tony looked guilty and nodded. "Sure."  
"I'll get it." I called as I walked away.  
"But you don't know where..."  
I turned around. "I'm sure I can work it out."  
I walked into the kitchen and looked around for some beer.

* * *

Tony stretched and pulled on his jeans.  
"Jarvis, who is this chick, really?" He said.  
"Jess Marenco, sir. Formerly served in Afghanistan six years ago. She was discharged six months later and took up a career in acting and singing. She has had many number one hits and has been nominated for two Oscars."  
"How come we haven't seen each-other before now?" Tony said.  
"She is very reclusive with her relationships, sir. She has dated many men but the relationships all ended after a couple of months."  
"Right. So not exactly the best at relationships then?"  
"Indeed."

* * *

**Jess:**

I walked back into the living room and threw a can of beer at Tony, he caught it. I sat on the sofa beside him and cracked open my can.  
"So, what have you been doing these past six years?" Tony asked.  
I chuckled, embarrassed. "I wrote songs about you. So many songs, oh my god."  
Tony looked flattered.  
"Things like Thanks For The Memories or You Used Me or One Night of My Life. People seemed to like them because they all got to number one."  
"Weird. My friends were singing along to songs that were really about me and I didn't realise." Tony said.  
I took a drink from my can. "Then I auditioned for the part in a romantic drama on tv as a joke. I got the part. I started dating the production manager; making out in the rails of costumes every Thursday night." I chuckled bitterly.  
"Then what?"  
"Then we broke up because I suggested meeting up on a Friday as well and he said that I was crushing him."  
"What the hell?"  
"I know." I said, sighing. "What a strange guy he was. Anyway, I left the romantic drama and got a part in a movie about a girl whose boyfriend is a sociopath. A lot of chains involved in that one." I rubbed my hand across my wrist at the painful memory. "Dated two other crew members there."  
Tony looked slightly turned on. Typical.  
"Then I got the part in a movie about a girl whose boyfriend is in a band but just before he's due to go on stage he panics so she goes on instead and rocks the arena, becomes famous, etcetera. That one involved more tattoos and hair dye. A record of four crew members. After the movie was over, a record producer came up to me and asked me if I'd be interested in doing an album. I said hell yeah. After that, I got the part on a crime drama. Did some more music, and that's basically it."  
Tony nodded, draining the last of his beer.  
I downed the last of mine and set it on the table in front of me.  
"That tattoo, on your shoulder. What is it?"  
I grinned, "The three little circles? That, marks my Achilles heel. If anyone touches it, I just..." I mimed falling into someone's arms.  
Tony looked mischievous. I could tell what he was thinking.  
He leaned closer to me. "What would happen if I were to press it?"  
"Don't!"  
Tony leaned, trying to reach my shoulder. I flinched away from him, turning my other shoulder towards him.  
"What's that?" Tony said suddenly, grabbing my hand, looking at the back of it.  
"Frank." I said.  
"What?" Tony raised an eyebrow.  
"Frank, the six-foot tall rabbit from Donnie Darko." I explained.  
"Donnie Darko?" Tony looked confused.  
"You've never heard of it?" I said, shocked.  
"No."  
"We have to watch it!" I said, jumping up and running over to the tv. I turned on Netflix and clicked on the movie.  
"Wait, what?" Tony said, looking even more confused.  
"Ssh!" I hissed. "It's starting!"

"Well, what did you think?" I said, looking over at Tony.  
"It was awesome, that bit about the Smurfs." He grinned.  
I laughed, "I know!"

"So," Tony said, turning to me. "Is tomorrow okay for you?"  
I raised an eyebrow. "What?"  
"Tomorrow. Are you free tomorrow?" Tony repeated.  
"Yes. I'm free all day."  
"Your place or mine?"  
I grinned. "Mine. 2:30."  
"I'll look forward to it."

Tony walked me to the door. He kissed me, when I pulled away I looked at him with an eyebrow raised. He raised his hands in an apologetic way and I walked away towards my car. I winked at him and blew a kiss then backed out of the drive and drove home.

* * *

**Hey so Jess didn't really write Thanks For The Memories (or Thnks Fr Th Mmrs), it's a Fall Out Boy song so credit goes to them for that. The other song titles are made up by me, I'm not sure if they are actually real songs or not.**

**JA xxx**


	4. The story gets out

Chapter 4

I woke up to my phone ringing loudly. I groaned loudly and picked it up from the table beside my bed.  
"Jess." I said sleepily.  
"Hello slut!" A voice said.  
I sat bolt upright, outraged. I was many things; selfish, narcissistic, very outspoken and _very_ snarky, but a slut was not one of them. "What!"  
"I was kidding, calm down jeez."  
It was Jamie, my friend since I'd left the army six years before.  
"Oh hey." I said, relieved. "Why are you calling at 11, saying I'm a slut?"  
"Well that's what all the papers are saying."  
"They're not, are they?" I said, a little panicked.  
"Take a look outside your bedroom window, I dare you."  
I thought he was lying so I pulled back the curtains and looked out.  
"There she is!" A photographer shouted. All the paparazzi ran over to get pictures of me in my underwear, I heard cheers and wolf-whistles. I let out a little scream and yanked the curtains shut as quickly as I could. I reluctantly turned on my laptop and typed my name in the search engine. I clicked on "News" and the headlines hit me like a slap in the face.  
"Actress, Jess Marenco and billionaire, Tony Stark dating?!"  
"Our sources say a wedding is imminent."  
"You can shove your sources!" I thought angrily.  
"Tony Stark denies the accusations."  
Pictures of Tony with me photoshopped in. Thankfully nothing else too embarrassing but the pictures on me in my underwear were starting to appear. I slammed my laptop shut and walked over to my bed and lay face down on it. I never wanted this to happen! I had to do some sort of press conference or interview and set things straight. Later though, I was feeling too tired and sorry for myself. I wrapped myself in my duvet and fell asleep.

I was woken again by a tapping on my window. I got up, hoping that a photographer hadn't climbed up my drain pipe or something. I peeked through the curtain and saw Tony balanced on my window sill. He waved.  
I slid the window open and he fell inside.  
He stood up, brushing himself down. "I tried the front door but it was swarmed by the shutter bugs." He explained.  
"Sorry." I said, scraping a hand through my hair. "You want a drink or something?"  
"No, I'm fine."  
"Okay." I turned round.  
"I'm guessing you've heard the rumours." Tony said.  
"About our wedding and possible children, uh yes." I said, picking up my comb.  
"Yeah," Tony stretched out on my bed. I heard him moving around but didn't pay much attention.  
"Should probably do something about that." I said, combing my hair.  
"Later." Tony crooned.  
I turned around and he was lying across my bed, shirtless.  
"Oh boy." I breathed.

I opened my eyes, my legs sore from not being moved. I sat up; Tony was nowhere to be seen but his shoes were still there. I pulled on a t-shirt and some underwear and walked downstairs.  
Tony held out a cup of coffee to me. I took it, feeling slightly surprised. Tony did look good, I would admit; in his jeans and tight shirt with his hair tousled.  
"I guess I feel asleep." I said, sipping my coffee.  
"Yeah, I did too. I was surprised I could even stand to walk down here." He grinned.  
I chuckled and took a long sip of my coffee. There was silence for a second.  
"Listen," I said, putting my now empty coffee cup down on the kitchen table. "It's my cousin's wedding on Saturday and I need a date."  
"Please don't tell me you set up this whole..." Tony hesitated. "Partnership, just so I would come with you and we would be done afterwards." Tony said, starting to stress.  
I shook my head. "Of course not. I'm not likely to let someone like you go that quickly. Far too good at it to waste." I moved closer to him.  
Tony looked pleased with himself. I punched something internally for giving his ego another boost. He moved his hands to my waist and kissed me slowly. I leaned against the table and started to lie down on it. Tony leant over me, kissing me with more force. I was now lying flat-out on the table, Tony above me. I heard the door bell ring loudly. Tony groaned, his hands on my hips. I pushed him off me and stood up. I smoothed my hair and walked out of the kitchen.  
"Hey, your shirt." Tony called after me.  
I looked down and pulled my shirt up a bit.  
I opened it and Jamie came swooping in.  
"Hello!" He said enthusiastically. "Where did you get these from?" He gestured to my chest. "Have you had work done?"  
"No, of course not!" I said, laughing. "And it's a new bra if you must know."Well, aren't you going to show me him?" Jamie grinned.  
"Who?" I replied, confused.  
"The new man, Tony."  
"He's not my man, we're just..." I hesitated.  
"Just what? Friends?"  
"Yeah. Who get to fourth base."  
Jamie spluttered. "What?! I thought you hated him! That never works out, you know. Who's idea was it?"  
"Mine."  
"Why?"  
"Because I wanted to." I replied, folding my arms.  
"But what about Harry?"  
I bit my lip. Oh, Harry. I thought he was the one, the guy I would be with for life. He told me I was his soul mate, the most beautiful girl in the world; only one day I came home late from a hard day of filming to find him saying the same thing to a swimsuit model from Omaha. He had called me a few times since, usually half drunk and saying he was wrong and he thought I was the best thing since contraception. I hated his guts but a little part of me still wanted to curl into a ball when I heard his name. After him, I had given up dating.  
"Screw Harry." I said at last. "He's an asshole."  
"Alright then." Jamie said, sounding unimpressed.  
I led him into the kitchen where Tony was standing.  
"Very nice." Jamie whispered to me, grinning as he looked Tony up and down.  
I stood on his foot. Jamie hopped on one foot, wincing and swearing.  
"Well, what do you want, Jamie?" I said bluntly.  
"I just wanted to ask, are you pregnant?"  
"I hope not." I said, looking down at my stomach.  
"And no wedding plans?"  
"No. And if there were you wouldn't be invited." I said, pushing him out of the kitchen and towards the door. "We have things to do, okay?"  
"What sort of things?"  
"Sexy things." I said, lowering my voice.  
Jamie laughed. "I won't keep you then."  
"Bye!" I called, pushing him out of the front door.  
"Slut!" He yelled as I shut the door.  
I rolled my eyes as I walked back into the kitchen.

"Where were we?" I murmured in Tony's ear.  
He lifted me onto the table and kissed me.  
"You know, Jamie, your friend, he was sort of checking me out." Tony said suddenly.  
"Well, of course he was." I said, looking up at him.  
Tony raised an eyebrow, confused.  
"He's gay." I explained.  
"Oh." Tony looked a bit uncomfortable, scared even.  
I chuckled and poked him. "Poor Tony. I won't let him touch you."  
Tony looked offended and kissed me.

"Oh, Hannah..." Tony whispered.  
"Really?" I said, "They're not even remotely similar."  
Tony pulled a face, thinking hard.  
"You want a clue?"  
He nodded.  
"Guys used to call me the Hot Mess."  
"Mess... mess... Jess!"  
I cheered, "You got there in the end."  
"I told you I'm no good with names." Tony said, pouting.  
"Yeah, yeah." I said, kissing him.

"Oh god!" I said and jumped up from the table.  
"What, what?!" Tony groaned sleepily.  
"I have to go, I have a show, oh shit." I ran upstairs, leaving Tony still sleepy and confused. He followed me upstairs.  
I grabbed an artistically ripped t-shirt, black shorts and fish net tights and black Chuck Taylors, my trademark outfit. I brushed my hair and straightened it, burning myself four times and swearing continuously. I put on powder, eyeliner and mascara and bright red lipstick. I put on my skull jewellery and red nail polish. I gulped down some coffee and stretched, picking up my guitars.  
"What now?" Tony asked.  
"Now we drive


	5. Weddings are boring, mostly

Chapter 5

"Can't I drive?" Tony said loudly, looking stressed.

"Why?" I said, swerving around another corner in my black mini Cooper.

"Because I'm seeing my whole life flash in front of my eyes every time you turn a corner." Tony said, covering his eyes as I overtook a gold Landrover at 60 miles per hour.

"How many girls can you see?" I asked, grinning.

"More than I care to admit." Tony chuckled.

I floored it and sped into a space, stopping about two millimetres away from the Ford in front. I jumped out of the car, pulling Tony and my guitars with me.

I ran up to the back door and banged loudly on it.

"Bobby!" I yelled.

The bouncer appeared and looked relieved. "Oh thank god you're here, where have you been?"

"Sleeping." I said, handing him my guitars.

Bobby rolled his eyes and held the door open.

"Wait a second." Bobby held Tony back suspiciously.

"It's okay, he's with me." I said hurriedly, smoothing my hair.

"Not another one." Bobby rolled his eyes and let Tony in.

"Oh, shut up." I said.

Everything was set up, I could hear the crowd cheering, adrenaline rushed through me. I grabbed Tony.  
"Kiss me!"  
"What?! Why?" He said, raising his eyebrows.

"I need to get pumped!"

"You're just using me." Tony grinned and kissed me.

"Yeah!" I jumped up and down.

Tony looked amused, watching me.

"See you later then!" I beamed and ran onto the stage to wild applause and cheering from the crowd.

"How's everybody doing here tonight?" I yelled into the microphone.

The cheering grew louder.

"All right!"

I grabbed my guitar, checked the drums and bass were ready, and started into one of my fast, angry songs which everyone knew.  
Some more songs later, and I swapped to my acoustic guitar and sat down on a high stool, starting to strum a slower cover of a song. The crowd swayed their hands in time to my playing.

"Take me on the edge, I wanna be the panic in your head, I wanna say the words that turn you red. Don't wanna pretend. Oh no no. If I could start a war I'd wanna be the calm before your storm, I'd wanna be the one you're dying for, again and again. Oh no no. If I'm going down, then you're coming with me. Hold on tight! Won't leave you high and dry, pull back your hair and ride! And baby, you take the wheel to kiss me or crash me, I can't breathe. Turning the red to green. You'll be the death of me and baby, you've got the wheel, so kiss me or crash tonight. Hands against your jeans. I wanna feel the spaces in between."

The crowd yelled their appreciation and wolf whistles went up everywhere. I grinned.

"The writing on the walls that no one's seen. And sleep in your dreams. Oh no no..." I sang.

I strummed the final chord and the crowd went nuts.

I stood up and put down my guitar. I grinned and waved to the crowd.

"Thank you!" I yelled. "You guys have been awesome!"

**Tony:**

Holy shit, that girl could sing. She could kiss, she could... everything. My god.  
Calm yourself, Tony. It's just a girl. Just a pretty face.

**Jess:**

I made my way off the stage, blowing kisses to the crowd who screamed their approval.

I grinned at Tony who looked a little breathless, "Well? How was it?"

"Awesome." He said, clapping me on the back.

"Thanks. I gotta go meet a few fans."

I walked outside where Bobby led me over to a group of very excited people. I signed a couple of posters, took a couple of pictures then walked over to my car accompanied by Tony.

Forty minutes later, we fell onto my bed.

"I'm exhausted, you exhausted?" I asked breathlessly.

"Yep, I'm wrecked." Tony said. "Hey, aren't singers meant to have groupies?"

I laughed, leaning up on my elbows in my pyjamas. Well, by pyjamas I mean an old Nirvana t shirt with my underwear.

"I used to." I admitted, "A couple of guys who followed me around on tour but they never lasted long."

"Interesting." Tony said, turning onto his chest.

"Yeah, well." I lay down on my back. "Night Tony."

"Night Jess."

"Oh great, another celebration of eternal love and happiness." I said sarcastically as Tony and I walked forward to give our names to the girl in charge of the guest list. "It'll never last!"

Tony laughed, "Let's hope there's plenty of alcohol at this thing."

"Fingers crossed." I grinned.

"Oh no," Jamie said as he walked over to us. "It's the bitter parade."

"We shall ruin your happiness with our stories of shit relationships and heartbreak!" I called, giggling.

"And they're drunk already, oh dear god." Jamie smiled.

"Wasn't that ceremony dull?" I said to Tony. "I feel sorry for Helen! That guy she married is so freaking boring!"

"Yeah!" He said, clinking his glass with mine.

"Oh no," I said quietly, glancing over at the door where the guests were coming in.

Jamie looked over and grinned excitedly.

"What?" Tony said, looking confused.

He seemed to do this a lot.

"It's Jasper." I muttered, hiding my face in my hands.

"Who?"

"A guy she knows from college. Every time they meet at weddings or parties, they sleep together. It's like, some sort of tradition." Jamie explained.  
"I'm in no way proud of it. Oh, god he's coming over here!" I squeezed my eyes shut. "I'll go to the bar. I'll see you guys later, hopefully."

I hurried off to the bar and got myself another drink.

I leaned against the tall window, feeling relieved.

"Hey, Jess."

Oh god, no.

I looked up and saw Jasper standing right in front of me; tall, broad shoulders, suit immaculate, piercing blue eyes and dark hair.  
I swallowed another gulp of the vodka Martini in my hand.

"Hi." I managed after a second or two.

Jasper moved closer to me. "Fancy seeing you here?"

I tucked my hair behind my ear as Jasper took this opportunity to grab my hand and move his other to my waist, which didn't really surprise me.

"I have the champagne on ice, back at my hotel room. Just how you like it." He said softly.

"Since when can you afford champagne?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Jasper looked surprised, "I've gone up in the world, Jess. I'm not just a little college boy anymore."

"No you're not." I admitted.

"Then come with me, you know you want to." Jasper said imploringly.

I shrugged, "Oh, all right then."

We walked out to his car but a voice made me turn around.

"Tony?"

"Jess! Why are you doing this? Going off with him?"

I looked from Jasper to Tony. "I... I don't know."

"Then don't."

"Wait a second..." Jasper began.

"Oh, shut up!" I snapped.

I saw a taxi driving by and hailed it. I opened the door and jumped inside. I leaned out of the window.

"I'll see you in a while." I said to Tony. "And you," I said to Jasper. "Get a girlfriend already!"

"Just drive around for a bit." I said to the taxi driver.

She turned around a little in her seat. "I trained as a psychologist, you know."

"Oh really?" I said, hugging my knees.

Half an hour later, the taxi driver handed me another tissue.

"And then he said we should see other people. And I lied, I said yeah okay I've seen someone cool in town who I can go out with and he was like, oh good because I've been sleeping with my secretary for three months!"

"And how did that make you feel?" The taxi driver asked, writing in her notepad.

"Terrible! And then I found Tony and things seemed to be going great but recently I've been feeling a bit weird around him, like, all weak and fluttery." I sighed.

She smiled, "You could like him."

My eyes widened, "I hope not. We agreed no emotional attachments."

"Very unhealthy."

I sighed again, deeper this time. "I know. I should do something about that."

"Yes, you should. Now get inside and go to bed before you pass out."

"Thank you!" I called as I got out of the car.

"No problem!"

She drove away.

I made my way up my path, now thankfully clear of paparazzi. They had all found a much more interesting story about some model having a public fight with her boyfriend. I walked upstairs and got changed and into bed, feeling like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders.


	6. The blog post

Chapter 6

Tony was woken by an insistent JARVIS.  
"What?" He groaned, sitting up from his desk where he'd been drawing out some changes for his suit. He found it therapeutic, it helped to sooth his worries about Jess. He hadn't heard from her in over a week.

"There is someone here to see you, sir. It is Jess Marenco."

Tony cursed and jumped up. He ran to a mirror and quickly fixed his hair which was sticking up strangely from sleeping with his head on the desk.  
"Okay, let her in." Tony said.

The front door slid open. He instantly heard a loud yell of something like "ducking sun of a mother ducker".

"Jess?" He called, walking up the stairs curiously.

She was lying face down on his sofa. She was wearing a purple crop top which showed the tanned skin on her back with black shorts and creepers with a thick black heel and metal studs on the front. Tony was sure a kick from those would hurt a lot. He was distracted by Jess' body; the way her hips moved as she... sobbed?

"Jess?" Tony said again. "Are you okay?"

"Does it look like I'm okay?!" She said, looking up at him and glaring.

She always looked much more than okay to Tony even when her face was blotchy and tear-streaked, her mascara smudged underneath her eyes. But of course he didn't say this. He would never have the courage.

Then he thought, time of the month? But he knew from what Rhodey had told him, not to ask.

"What's wrong?"

"My bastard of an ex-boyfriend posted about me on his blog! And all the press found it!" Jess sobbed.

"And?" Tony was confused. "What did he say about you?"

Jess scowled, sitting up. "Oh just, y'know how am I in bed!"

Tony spluttered, trying to keep the grin from his face. "Well, I know..."

"Of course _you_ know but the whole world isn't meant to know!" Jess complained, flopping back down onto the sofa in despair.

"Jarvis!" Tony clicked his fingers and a screen appeared in front of him. The blog post came up.

Jess ate chocolate and crisps despairingly, while Tony read the post.

"Well..." He felt hot all over. "It makes you seem very affectionate."

Jess groaned and ate some more crisps.

"And very... imaginative."

More groans and the sound of a can of squirty cream.

Tony looked up the "bastard of an ex-boyfriend". Mike Travers.

"Right." He said to himself through gritted teeth.

Mike Travers hummed to himself as he got out of his car, flicking his dirty blonde hair out of his eyes. As far as he knew, everything was good.

A slight sound make him look up as he closed his car door, his green eyes looking around the dark car park. He saw nothing so locked up his car and walked across the car park towards his apartment block.

Suddenly something came out of nowhere and shoved him up against the damp concrete wall. Mike felt the cold wall behind him and panicked as he felt a grip on his throat. He struggled but it was too strong. The thing holding him looked a bit like a man but it shone and felt cold, metal.

"What do you want? Money?" He said, his voice a little hoarse from shock.

"I want you to leave Jess alone."

"What?!" Mike spluttered. "I haven't done anything to Jess! I haven't seen her in weeks!"

"I want you to delete that post, and tell the press you made it up."

"The press know? Will I get money?"

You little shit.

Mike felt his throat being pressed against harder. "Okay, okay! I'll delete it, and tell the papers. I promise!"

"You don't tell anyone..."

The thing looked at him for a second or two then let him go and flew away, jets firing up from its hands.

Mike massaged his throat, coughing as he staggered back to his apartment.

He fumbled for his key and let himself in. He leant heavily against the door, breathing hard. He looked over at his laptop. With a sigh, he walked slowly over to it and clicked onto his blog.

Jess stirred as Tony walked into the room. Her head hurt from crying and anger.

"Mike isn't going to bother you anymore." He said with satisfaction.  
"What?" Jess sat up, confused. "...You didn't order a hit on him, did you?"

"No, of course not." Tony grinned, leaning back in his seat. "I don't need a hit man." He added under his breath.

* * *

**Hey guys! So before you ask, Mike is not Mike Dirnt from Green Day. You probably weren't going to ask that but anyway it's fictional Mike! Completely fictional, it was just a coincidence!**

**JA xxx**


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